Update on "Comic Art in Museums"

Around Thanksgiving 2018, I resubmitted a new draft of my upcoming book for University Press of Mississippi about the history, controversies, and trends in exhibits of comic art in art museums and university galleries between 1930 to the present. Over the summer, I got very positive peer reviews that also pointed out some gaps, and the Press decided to change the book’s format from a black & white reader to a full color art book. Because of this, I added some new essays, sourced lots of exhibition photos, and rewrote all of my section intros. Whew…

I am so grateful to the many helpful and enthusiastic contributors to this book. Definitely a labor of love! The text is about 50/50 new/totally revised or old/reprinted material. Here’s the current table of contents:

Foreword: Dr. Tom Inge

Foundations: Comic Art in Museums

Comic Art in Museums: An Overview: Denis Kitchen

Substance and Shadow: the Art of the Cartoon: Brian Walker

Permanent Ink: Comic Book and Comic-Strip Art as Aesthetic Object & Afterthoughts on Permanent Ink: Andrei Molotiu

Pioneers: Comic Art Exhibitions 1930 - 1967

The Evolution of Comic Art Exhibitions 1934-1951: Kim Munson

Narrative Illustration: the Story of the Comics: M. C. Gaines

The First International: ‘L Exposicao Internacional de Historias em Quadrinhos’: Alvaro de Moya

‘Bande dessinee et figuration narrative’: la contribution de Pierre Couperie: Antoine Sausverd (translated by Dr. Ann Miller)

The Renewed Focus on Comics as Art After 1970

The Comic Stripped and Ash Canned: a Review Essay: Albert Boime

Exhibitions at the Museum of Cartoon Art: A Personal Recollection & List of Exhibitions at the Museum of Cartoon Art: Brian Walker

Mort Walker, Historian: Cullen Murphy

Review/Art: Cartoon Masters - Cartoonists Finally Get Some Respect: Kenneth Baker

Comics, Community, and the Toonseum: an Interview with Joe Wos: Kim Munson

Expanding Views of Comic Art: Topics and Display

Northern Ink: Misfit Lit in Minneapolis: Diana Green

Our Heroes: African-American Artists and Images in the American Comic Book: Dwayne McDuffie

Deviating from ‘Art’: Japanese Manga Exhibitions 1990-2015: Jaqueline Berndt

The Glimmering Glow of Comic Art Amidst the Blinding Glitter of the United Arab Emirates: John A. Lent

Hypercomics: The Shape of Comics to Come: Paul Gravett

Sequential Titillation: Comics Stripped at the Museum of Sex, New York: Craig Yoe

Masters of High and Low: Exhibitions in Dialogue

Comic Connoisseurs: David Deicher

Comics as Art Criticism: The Cartoons of Jonah Kinigstein: Karen Green & Kim Munson

High Way Robbery & My Way Along the Highway: Michael Dooley

High Art Lowdown: This Review is Not Sponsored by AT&T: Art Spiegelman

How Low Can You Go?: John Carlin

Cracking the Comics Canon: Leslie Jones

An uneasy accord: L.A. museums open their walls to comics as true works of art. Is it long overdue, still an odd mix, or simply inviting cartoonists to a party they may not want to attend: Scott Timberg

Here are the Great Women Comic Artists of the United States: Trina Robbins

Remasters of American Comics: Sequential art as new media in the transformative museum context: Damian Duffy

Personal Statements: Exhibitions about Individual Artists

After ‘Masters’: Interview with Gary Panter: Kim Munson

Splashing Ink on Museum Walls: How Comic Art is Conquering Galleries, Museums, and Public Spaces: Rob Salkowitz

In Our Own Image, After Our Likeness: Charles Hatfield

Showing Pages and Progress: Interview with Carol Tyler: Kim Munson

Curating Comics Canons: Daniel Clowes and Art Spiegelman’s Private Museums: Benoit Crucifix

‘Co-Mix’ and Exhibitions: Interview with Art Spiegelman: Kim Munson

Introduction to ‘Comic Book Apocalypse: The Art of Jack Kirby’: Charles Hatfield

Jack Kirby at Cal State Northridge: Doug Harvey

Genius in a Box: Alexi Worth

These essays will be accompanied by over 75 images. Book expected July 2020.

Conference schedule 2017

After a hiatus, I've scheduled speaking slots a few upcoming conferences:

San Diego Comics Fest, Feb 17-19. Print Magazine's Michael Dooley and I will talk about the art of Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and Jules Feiffer, particularly about the way that exhibitions of their original art keep their legacy alive with fans old and new.

Comic Arts Conference at WonderCon (Anaheim, CA), March 31-April 2. 50th Anniversary of the Bande Dessinee et Figuration (1967) Exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. 

Popular Culture Association National Conference (San Diego, CA), April 11-15. 50th Anniversary of the Bande Dessinee et Figuration (1967) Exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. 

Comic Arts Conference at San Diego Comic-Con International, July 20-23. Exhibitions of Will Eisner and Jack Kirby.

New Article: The Books and Exhibitions of Maurice Horn

Poster for 1967 exhibition, courtesy of Maurice Horn.

"How the French Kickstarted the Acceptance of Comics as Art in the US: the Books and Exhibitions of Maurice Horn" will be published in the Fall 2016 issue of the International Journal of Comic Art, and is currently available on Academia.edu.

Overview of the career of the French/American comics pioneer Maurice Horn. Discussion of the French interest in US comics, and the exhibitions Bande dessinée et figuration narrative (Paris 1967), AAARGH!: a Celebration of Comics (London 1970), and 75 Years of the Comics (NY 1971). Books discussed are A History of the Comic Strip (1968), World Encyclopedia of Comics (1976), Women in the Comics (1977), and several others. Includes a short history of American comics in France, and the 1960's groups, Club Bande Dessinée, and SOCERLID, that championed the idea of comics as "the ninth art" through their exhibitions and publications. Horn was a contributing member of these groups, moving on in the 1970's to edit an important string of comics reference books.

Article includes interviews with Maurice Horn, Rick Marschall, John Lent, Brian Walker, Denis Kitchen, Trina Robbins, Steve Leialoha, and Art Spiegelman.